Particularly egregious are the Labour MPs covering Wandsworth who are criticising the Tory borough council for raising tax after Labour rapidly cut its funding by 40%. Tooting MP Rosena Allin-Khan, Putney MP Fleur Anderson, and Battersea MP Marsha de Cordova have refused to help…
Fleur Anderson has actually distributed an email to her constituents this week attacking the council for its decision to hike Council Tax in response to the funding cliff-dive. Cynical – Reform has jumped on the bandwagon too…
Hilariously she manages to attack the Tories for making “very concerning cuts:
Cut meals for Wandsworth’s most vulnerable children;
Got rid of school breakfast clubs;
Cancelled support for local charities;
Scrapped Bulky Waste collections (which will ultimately cost more money as Bulky Waste reduced the Council’s fly-tipping costs).”
Of course, there will have to be more of those thanks to the Labour government’s decision. She added: “Residents should not be asked to pay substantially more while the Council is still looking for savings elsewhere.” Chump…
Malcom Grimston, independent councillor and kingmaker in the borough, points out: “The previous administration ate through some £90 million of the £205 million in reserves that it inherited, and things were getting worse (£50 million of this was incurred in the last year alone). In effect, the previous Council governed as though it was raising the Council Tax by 15% a year but actually only raised it by 2% a year.” Who ran the previous council?
Kemi Badenoch is launching a legal challenge against the government for the move. Read Anderson’s full email below:
“I am deeply concerned about Wandsworth Conservatives’ decision to impose a huge increase in Council Tax on local residents from next year.
The proposed increase would mean an average household (those in Band D) paying around £958 more a year.
Please ask the Conservatives to think again about this increase. Sign the petition: Don’t Double Our Council Tax.
At a time when many families are already under pressure, this is a major additional cost.
There are real financial pressures facing councils. I am constantly raising this issue in conversations and meetings with ministers. But there are choices about how those pressures are managed. I especially do not believe Wandsworth should respond by asking residents to pay such a large increase all at once.
The Conservatives only very narrowly control the Council – they are only able to pass this increase because of West Hill councillor Malcolm Grimston. I do not believe they have the mandate for such a massive, sudden change to residents’ finances.
At the same time, the Conservatives have made very concerning cuts:
- Cut meals for Wandsworth’s most vulnerable children;
- Got rid of school breakfast clubs;
- Cancelled support for local charities;
- Scrapped Bulky Waste collections (which will ultimately cost more money as Bulky Waste reduced the Council’s fly-tipping costs).
When Labour ran Wandsworth, they kept Council Tax the lowest in the country while investing in local services. They also built up strong reserves and kept council debt low.
Wandsworth Labour had a plan to manage the financial challenge:
- Keep Council Tax increases within the 5% referendum limit.
- Give the council several years to adjust to the new funding position, rather than imposing such a large increase immediately.
- Use reserves responsibly to smooth the transition and protect residents from a sudden tax shock.
- Drive further efficiencies before asking residents to pay more, including reducing duplication in corporate services and reforming the way the council operates.
- Reduce the cost of temporary accommodation, including excessive payments to private landlords.
- Modernise council services and make better use of digital technology and new technology such as AI.
- Protect frontline services and support for residents wherever possible.
I am particularly concerned that the Council is making cuts to services and community support at the same time as increasing Council Tax.
Residents should not be asked to pay substantially more while the Council is still looking for savings elsewhere.
This decision is not inevitable. The financial challenge is real, but the way the Conservatives have chosen to respond to it is a political choice.
I will continue to challenge this increase and work with Labour councillors and residents to make the case for a fairer approach.
Best wishes,
Fleur Anderson MP
MP for Putney, Southfields, Roehampton and Wandsworth Town
Andy Haldane, Burnham’s recent adviser on the economy who has not taken up a No10 job, told Andrew Marr on LBC:
“The market now suspects that this is a traditional tax-and-spend socialist government with better TikTok videos…
imposing windfall taxes on oil & gas or on banks or upping capital gains tax would […] repeat the mistake that Rachel made […] The Achilles heel, the fiscal Achilles heel of this government thus far has been its unwillingness and/or inability to cut public spending.”